President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone conversation with President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The heads of state discussed the situation in the world against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as measures to overcome this disease and minimize its consequences for the society and economies of the two countries.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan asked about the health of the First Lady of Ukraine, conveyed greetings to her and wished her a speedy recovery.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the Turkish people and personally the President of the Republic of Turkey for the humanitarian assistance provided to Ukraine to combat COVID-19. Taking into account the traditionally high level of interaction and contacts between the two countries, the interlocutors agreed on the need to restore air traffic as soon as possible in parallel with mitigation of quarantine measures. The leaders stressed that they consider July 1 as the date for the resumption of flights between Ukraine and Turkey.
"I know that some airlines want to resume their flights - this will give impetus to the gradual resumption of the tourism industry," the President of Ukraine said.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan noted that Turkey will do everything to make Ukrainian tourists feel comfortable and safe.
The heads of state praised the results of the visit of the high-ranking Turkish delegation to Ukraine on June 22 this year headed by Spokesperson and Special Adviser to the President of Turkey İbrahim Kalın. The list of issues, the agreements reached and the level of mutual understanding of the parties reaffirmed the strategic nature of relations between Ukraine and the Republic of Turkey.
The President of Ukraine praised the Turkish side's attention to protecting the rights and interests of Crimean Tatars in the occupied Crimea, as well as practical steps to implement agreements on the construction of housing in the Kherson region for 500 families of internally displaced persons from Crimea.
"Pursuant to my instruction, our government is working on the text of the Ukrainian-Turkish intergovernmental memorandum, which will determine the technical issues of construction," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
The Ukrainian President thanked Turkey for its unwavering position in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, protecting the rights of the Crimean Tatar people, and its willingness to further deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries in all areas of common interest.
In the context of the implementation of the agreements of the eighth meeting of the High-Level Strategic Council between Ukraine and Turkey held in Kyiv on February 3, the heads of state agreed to take additional measures to finalize negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement and intensify the work of a number of sectoral bilateral mechanisms.